Fluid handling devices consisting of fermenters, distillers, filtration tanks, evaporators, etc. (or combinations of these components) are exceedingly common in industry and in research labs. Researchers and engineers also often need to experiment with models for common thermodynamic cycles, e.g., refrigeration cycles (vapor compression cycle, Einstein cycle, etc.) and power cycles (Otto cycle, Diesel cycle, Brayton cycle, Rankine cycle, etc.). While it is often desirable to generate prototypes or small-scale versions of such devices, they are usually time-consuming, difficult, and expensive to construct. One approach commonly used in laboratories is to connect glassware vessels (e.g., flasks, towers, heat exchangers, etc.) with rubber tubing so that the vessels form some desired fluid process model, but even apart from the significant time and expense required for their construction, these are quite fragile, are unsuitable for pressurized processes, and are also usually unsuitable for processes involving extreme temperatures or corrosive materials (owing to the weakness of the tubing). In some cases, more durable fluid handling devices can be formed from metal vessels connected with (for example) brazed copper tubing, but these involve even greater time, cost, and fabrication burdens.
Some systems (such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,841,036 to Mayeaux) and standards (ANSI/ISA-76.00.02-2002) have been developed in an attempt to reduce these shortcomings of fluid handling devices. However, prior efforts have thus far not resulted in fluid handling devices which can be rapidly assembled in nearly unlimited configurations, which can be used across a wide range of temperatures and pressures, and which are relatively inexpensive.